PAKISTAN: Military threatens food security of farmers by illegal land grabbing in Punjab

The peasants have been cultivating the land from their forefathers who were asked to settle and cultivate the land in 1913. However, the military-run corporations and family members of retired military officers have gradually occupied the land illegally. The peasants are struggling for their right to land and facing serious human rights violations including murder and false charges being laid against them whereas the Punjab government has consistently failed to protect their rights. In addition, many villagers are forced to pay money to the military under threat. It is also alleged that the military corporations have leased the land to the UAE countries. The Punjab government in associated with the military allotted some land to the villages of Okara area as a compromise instead of taking the total land back to the peasants. In 2010, the government pledged to provide the funding for housing construction as well as a school and hospital in the villages which is yet substantiated.

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2011-05-17

The peasants living in Okara, Punjab have been confronting serious food insecurity by military-run corporations and family members of retired military officers who have illegally occupied the land the peasants have been cultivating for generations.

In 1913, the peasants’ forefathers were asked to move to Okara to settle down and cultivate the land led by a Catholic father who was from Belgium at that time. The land was jungle, which was not suitable for cultivation. The forefathers worked hard and made the land fertile. The church promised to hand over the land to the peasants after 15 years which is recorded in Church archive. Being illiterate, the forefathers trusted it but were not aware that the military leased the same land for 20 years in 1933.

When the peasants produced the crop, they had to share half of them with the military. There are seven major corporations run by the military – military farm, military dairy farm, Punjab Seed Corporation, Livestock farm, Seed Research Farm, Army Welfare Trust, Reclamation farm. The retired military families also occupy the land and collect crops from the peasants.

After partition between India and Pakistan, the military started occupying the land that the peasants cultivated, insisting that the land belongs to the military as the so-called loyal military that was the military before the partition had leased and used the land earlier. Under military suppression, the peasant lost their land. After taking over the land, the military employed other workers and the peasants were forced to find other jobs to support their families. It was a critically hard time to feed the families as well as livestock. Some lost their livestock and family members as they could not afford to treat them when they got sick.

Some peasants were killed while protesting against military’s land grabbing and suppression, in 1973, 1984 and 2007 respectively. The victims’ families with the help of other peasants, tried to lodge a complaint against the military who committed murder, the police rather suggested the families to withdraw the complaint or was even under military’s threat. The victim’s families could not bear the threat and moved to another village, or had to withdraw the case. Rather, the military filed false cases against more than 140 peasants threatening that they would withdraw the complaints if the peasants gave up their land. The Province administration also failed to protect the peasant as the military is practically beyond its authority.

In 1998, when new government took over the power in Punjab, the new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised to provide title to the land for the peasants who are actual tillers in the area as they have been struggling to protect their land against the military. The Minister of State, a Deputy Minister came to conduct investigation in order to keep the promise and asked about land title to the militaries who run their businesses on the land. The military could not provide any legal document about the land. Then, the peasants also realized that the military illegally run their business and exploited the peasants by collecting the crops and occupying more land by force.

As the military is aware that they cannot insist on the title to the land, they introduced contract system based on which the peasants are forced to pay cash in the name of using the land since 2000. Many of peasants currently pay 50,000 Pakistani rupees (USD 590) per acre yearly. In Kaliyana state composed of 14 villages, the peasants’ protest could manage to cut the rent down to 10,000 Pakistani rupees (USD 118), which is still big money for the poor peasants. In addition, the military provide inputs such as seeds or fertilizer for the peasants and charge more than what the peasants actually use. After harvesting the crops, the peasants have to manage all expenses to deliver crops to the military. Some peasant, strongly refuse to pay the rent to the military. The peasants struggling under Anjuman Muzareen Punjab do not pay the rent at present.

After strong protest, the military compromised to provide 800 acres for the peasants living in Kaliyana state. The peasants decided to provide the land for those who do not have their own houses, which are around 450 out of 750 households. They decided to build the primary school as well. Among 14 villages, only 6 villages have primary school and there is no public health institution. The villagers have to travel for 2 hours to reach the public hospital. When the peasants approach the Chief Minister of Punjab province to demand their right to land and stop the land grabbing by the military in February 2010, the Chief Minister promised to provide the fund for housing construction and other basic facilities such as school and health centre. It is not substantialised so far.

It is also alleged that the military leased the land to gulf countries despite the fact that they do not have title to land. The Anjuman Muzareen Punjab filed a lawsuit against the military's illegal land grabbing. According to them, there is an official revenue record proving that their forefathers had settled and cultivated the land since 1913; there is no grave belonging to the military and all graves belong to the peasants, which proves that the military never lived on the land; there is no prove that the military extended their lease after 1933 when their 20 year-lease contract was expired.

The land grabbing by the military is the biggest threat against the peasants as well as the fisher folk. Not only aggravating the food insecurity, but also does it create grave human rights violation such as murder with impunity. The AHRC has been reporting those violations happening in the process of land grabbing. Recently, two fisher folk activists were murdered by the military (AHRC-UAU-024-2011) and the politicians fired against eight peasant women and a child who are seriously injured (AHRC-UAC-091-2011).

While the peasants and the fisher folks protest against the land grabbing by the military or politicians, the government fails to respect, protect and fulfill the fundamental rights, the rights to food and land, allowing the constant violence and impunity. The military entertain their impunity by threatening and filing false charges against the villagers struggling for their rights.

Source: Asian Human Rights Commission

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